Asia Stocks Mostly Fall as Inflation Data Shows Improvement

Asian stock markets mostly fell on Friday, August 14, after mixed sessions in Asia and unchanged US futures. This came as U.S. inflation data showed a better-than-expected improvement in July, with prices at the wholesale level rising 4.7% from last year.

The FTSE 100 index in Britain dropped 0.3%, while Germany's DAX rose 0.5%. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.6%, and the Kospi in South Korea surged 2.4%.

However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.1% to 25,116.85. The Shanghai Composite index remained nearly unchanged at 3,927.18.

Economists expect inflation to continue trending downward, which could lead the Federal Reserve to hold off on interest rate hikes. Higher rates would slow the economy and make borrowing more expensive.